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1 

Oi 

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11 


Priesthood 

and 
Presidency 


Claims  of  the  "Reorganized" 
Church  Examined  and  Com- 
pared with  Reason  and  Rev- 
elation. 


IK  CHARLES  W.  PKTNROSE 


Press  of   Zion's   Printing   and   Publishing  Co. 
Independence,   Jackson  County,   Mo. 


Priesthood  and  Presidency. 

By   CHARLES  W.  PENROSE. 


On  the  6th  of  April,  1860,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Am- 
boy,  Illinois,  composed  of  a  small  number  of  persons,  most, 
if  not  all  of  whom  had  seceded  from  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  They  had  assembled  at  the 
call  of  Zenos  H.  Gurley  and  Reuben  Newkirk,  and  came 
from  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  and  Michigan.  At  this  so-called 
"Conference"  Joseph  Smith  (son  of  the  martyred  Prophet 
who  was  slain  at  Carthage,  June  27,  1844)  presented  him- 
self and  expressed  his  willingness  to  accept  the  position  of 
their  leader.  He  had  been  several  times  invited  to  assume 
that  position  and  now  complied  with  the  request.  He  was 
received  with  great  joy,  and  after  making  a  brief  address, 
in  which  he  pledged  himself  to  promulgate  no  doctrine  that 
should  not  be  approved  by  them,  the  people  assembled 
accepted  him  as  a  Prophet  and  the  successor  of  his  deceased 
father;  the  President  of  the  assembly,  William  Marks, 
saying,  "Brother  Joseph,  I  present  this  Church  to  you  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ."  Mr.  Smith  took  the  present 
thus  tendered  and  he  was  ordained  President  of  the  High 
Priesthood  and  President  of  the  Church  by  William  Marks, 
Zenos  H.  Gurley,  Samuel  Powers  and  W.  W.  Blair.  The 
religious  society  of  which  the  late  Joseph  Smith,  son  of  the 
Prophet,  was  thus  made  President  claims  to  be  "The 
Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints." 

The  term  "Reorganized"  implies  and  is  a  confession 
that  the  society  which  invented  and  adopted  it  is  not  the 


2  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

original  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  That 
was  organized  April  6th,  1830,  at  Fayette,  Seneca  Co., 
New  York,  afterwards  had  its  headquarters  at  Kirtland, 
Ohio,  then  at  Independence,  Missouri,  next  at  Far  West, 
Missouri,  following  that  at  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  and  subse- 
quently at  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  where  it  still  remains. 

But  it  is  claimed  that  the  original  Church,  established 
by  revelation  from  God  through  Joseph  Smith  the  Martyr, 
became  disorganized  at  his  death.  Also  that  it  was  re- 
jected by  the  Almighty  with  its  dead.  And  further,  that 
on  the  decease  of  the  first  President  of  the  Church  no  one 
could  legally  succeed  him  in  that  office  but  his  eldest  son. 
Therefore  that  which  was  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints  on  June  27th,  1844,  was  not  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  on  June  28th,  1844! 
By  what  process  an  organization  so  perfect  in  all  its  depart- 
ments and  offices  and  councils  and  quorums,  with  branches 
in  various  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  also  in  Europe  and 
on  the  Isles  of  the  Sea,  could  become  disorganized  because 
its  chief  presiding  officer  was  slain,  has  not  been  made  to 
appear.  Certainly  there  have  been  from  that  day  to  the 
present  no  signs  or  evidences  of  disorganization  in  that  re- 
ligious body.  It  has  been  preserved  intact,  with  its  name, 
doctrines,  ordinances,  priesthood,  vital  force,  mission  work, 
unity,  gifts,  powers,  spirit  and  growth,  and  is  today  recog- 
nized as  the  most  splendid  and  perfect  ecclesiastical  or- 
ganization on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Consideration  of  the  singular  claims  set  up  by  the 
disciples  of  the  "Reorganization"  would  be  superfluous 
in  view  of  their  absurdity,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  a 
number  of  worthy  men  and  women  have  been  deceived 
by  the  sophistry  and  perversions  resorted  to  by  advocates 
of  "Reorganism."  Its  leading  spirits  are  chiefly  persons 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  3 

who  have  been  excommunicated  from  the  Church  of  Christ 
for  apostasy  and  other  offenses.  It  would  be  labor  in  vain 
to  point  out  to  them  their  inconsistencies  and  egregious 
errors.  But  people  who  have  been  led  into  acceptance  of 
their  foolish  theories  by  the  advancement  of  some  principles 
which  are  true,  scriptural  and  essential,  and  have  thus  been 
drawn  by  a  glimmering  of  light  into  mists  and  darkness, 
may  be  rescued  and  guided  into  the  straight  and  narrow 
way  where  the  sun  shines  in  its  fulness,  by  a  plain  presenta- 
tion of  simple  truths  and  a  refutation  of  cunning  falsehoods. 
It  is  for  their  benefit  that  these  lines  are  written. 

First,  let  us  examine  the  grounds  on  which  it  is  as- 
serted that  the  Church  established  by  the  Prophet  Joseph 
has  been  disorganized  and  rejected.  For,  if  they  are  unten- 
able, the  claims  of  the  "Reorganization"  have  no  basis. 
If  there  has  been  no  disorganization,  there  can  be  no  valid 
reason  for  a  reorganization.  At  the  death  of  Joseph  Smith 
the  First  Presidency  of  the  Church  consisted  of  Joseph 
Smith,  President;  Sidney  Rigdon,  Counselor.  William  Law, 
the  other  Counselor,  had  been  excommunicated.  The 
martyrdom  disorganized  that  council  or  quorum,  but  did 
that  disorganize  the  Church?  If  so,  then  the  Church  will 
be  disorganized  whenever  its  President  shall  be  removed  by 
death  or  otherwise.  There  is  nothing  in  the  revelations  of 
God  or  the  order  of  the  priesthood  which  justifies  such  a 
palpable  absurdity.  On  that  hypothesis,  when  Jesus  Christ 
was  slain  his  Church  was  disorganized.  Also  if  the  "Re- 
organized" Church  shall  lose  its  present  President  it  will 
become  disorganized.  An  institution  which  would  be  sub- 
ject to  dissolution  in  such  a  manner  would  have  no  claim 
to  divine  origin,  and  would  be  a  most  miserable  kind  of 
human  establishment,  more  like  the  product  of  lunacy  than 


4  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

the  result  of  ordinary  reason,  to  say  nothing  of  divine 
revelation. 

The  Church  organized  April  6th,  1830,  continued  after 
the  death  of  its  first  President  under  the  direction  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  for  about  three  and  a  half  years,  when  the 
First  Presidency  was  reorganized.  This  procedure  has  been 
repeated  at  the  decease  of  each  of  the  first  Presidents  who 
have  succeeded  each  other,  and  the  Church  has  moved  for- 
ward along  the  lines  marked  out  by  revelation,  without 
interruption,  and  without  a  sign  or  symptom  of  disorgani- 
zation. 

It  is  evident  from  the  revelations  of  God  in  former  and 
latter  times  in  reference  to  his  Church  and  Kingdom  to  be 
set  up  in  the  last  days  that  it  was  to  be  perpetuated,  and 
in  that  respect  to  be  different  from  his  work  in  previous 
dispensations.  Through  the  wickedness  of  mankind  the 
authority  of  the  Holy  Priesthood  was  repeatedly  taken 
from  the  earth,  but  God's  crowning  work  for  the  redemption 
of  the  earth  was  to  be  "The  Dispensation  of  the  Fulness  of 
Times/'  in  which  all  things  in  Christ  both  in  heaven  and  on 
earth  were  to  be  gathered  in  one.  (Eph.  1:10.)  The  king- 
dom which  God  was  to  set  up  in  the  latter  days  was  not  to  be 
"left  to  other  people."  It  was  never  to  be  destroyed. 
(Daniel  2:44.)  This  assurance  the  Lord  has  frequently 
given  to  his  Church  and  Kingdom  established  by  his  au- 
thority on  April  6th,  1830.  In  a  revelation  given  in  Septem- 
ber, 1830,  he  said: 

"Unto  whom  I  have  committed  the  keys  of  my  kingdom 
and  a  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  for  the  last  times  and  for 
the  fulness  of  times,"  etc.  (Doc.  &  Cov.  Section  27:13.) 

In  December,  1830,  he  said: 

"Fear  not,  little  flock,  the  kingdom  is  yours  until  I  come." 
(Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  35:27.) 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  5 

On  January  2,  1831,  he  said: 

"Behold,  the  kingdom  is  yours,  and  the  enemy  shall  not 
overcome."  (Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  38:9.) 

In  July  23,  1837,  the  Lord  said  concerning  his  servants: 

"For  unto  you  (the  Twelve)  and  those  (the  First 
Presidency)  who  are  appointed  with  you  to  be  your  coun- 
selors and  your  leaders,  is  the  power  of  this  Priesthood  given, 
for  the  last  days  and  for  the  last  time,  in  the  which  is  the 
dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times."  (Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec- 
tion 112:30.) 

The  disorganization  of  the  Church  would  be  a  virtual 
contradiction  of  God's  own  promises  and  predictions.  It 
is  clear  that  he  did  not  intend  to  permit  his  Church  to  be 
thrown  down,  destroyed,  overcome,  disorganized  or  left  to 
other  people.  It  was  to  "stand  forever."  A  reorganization 
therefore  would  be  superfluous  and  indeed  an  absurdity. 

Now  as  to  the  alleged  "rejection"  of  the  Church:  When 
the  Saints,  after  the  expulsion  from  Missouri  had  settled  at 
Commerce,  Illinois,  and  begun  to  build  up  Nauvoo,  they 
were  commanded  of  the  Lord  to  build  a  Temple  to  his  name. 
That  was  a  commandment  which  the  Lord  says  is  always 
given  to  his  people.  The  ordinances  in  behalf  of  the  dead 
are  to  be  administered  in  a  Temple,  and  things  kept  hid 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world  and  those  pertaining  to 
the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times  are  to  be  revealed 
in  holy  places,  where  are  to  be  "the  oracles"  and  also  "stat- 
utes and  judgments"  for  the  foundation  of  Zion,  and  the 
anointings  and  washings  and  further  ordinances  which  the 
Lord  promised  to  reveal  therein.  The  erection  of  that  Tem- 
ple was  urged  upon  the  people.  The  Lord  foreseeing  what 
would  take  place  with  his  servants  Joseph  and  Hyrum, 
it  was  necessary  that  his  people  should  be  stirred  up  to  dili- 
gence in  the  performance  of  that  work.  He  therefore^de-- 


6  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

clared  that  he  granted  unto  them  a  sufficient  time  to  build 
that  house,  and  said: 

"If  you  do  not  these  things  at  the  end  of  the  appoint- 
ment, ye  shall  be  rejected  as  a  Church,  with  your  dead, 
saith  the  Lord  your  God."  (Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  124:25-41.) 

It  is  claimed  by  the  so-called  "Reorganized"  Church 
that  the  Saints,  with  the  Twelve  Apostles  at  their  head  and 
all  the  quorums  of  the  Holy  Priesthood  and  all  the  institu- 
tions established  by  the  Almighty  ''for  the  last  days  and 
for  the  last  time,"  were  rejected  of  God  and  cast  out  and 
deprived  of  the  means  of  salvation  for  themselves  and  their 
dead  ancestors  back  through  all  previous  generations,  be- 
cause they  did  not  "complete"  the  Temple  in  Nauvoo. 
Now  it  is  a  matter  of  history  that  notwithstanding  the 
opposition  of  the  enemies  of  the  Church,  the  murder  of  the 
Prophet  and  Patriarch,  the  threatenings  and  plots  and  rag- 
ings  of  mobocrats,  and  the  scantiness  of  means  for  the  great 
work  before  them,  the  Saints  went  to  with  their  might  and 
built  that  house  according  to  the  commandment  of  the  Lord 
and  the  pattern  revealed  to  Joseph  Smith,  which  with  all  the 
keys  and  authority  and  -power  of  the  Holy  Priesthood  he 
had  given  to  the  Twelve,  and  that  it  was  so  far  completed 
before  the  exodus  from  that  city  that  it  was  dedicated  to 
the  Lord,  and  baptisms  for  the  dead  were  performed  in  the 
sacred  font,  and  washings,  anointings,  endowments  and 
other  ordinances  were  solemnized  therein,  both  for  the  living 
and  for  the  dead. 

But,  it  is  objected  by  the  "Reorganizes"  that  the 
Temple  was  not  fully  "completed,"  and  Brigham  Young 
is  quoted  as  saying  after  his  arrival  in  Utah,  that  the  Saints 
would  attempt  to  build  a  Temple,  and  that  "This  has  been 
attempted  several  times,  but  we  have  never  yet  had  the 
privilege  of  completing  and  enjoying  one."  Our  very 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  7 

technical  and  disputatious  opponents  are  never  tired  of 
repeating  in  this  connection  the  words  "complete"  and 
"completed."  But  a  careful  examination  of  the  word  of  the 
Lord  fails  to  discover  those  words  or  anything  equivalent 
to  them.  The  Lord  told  his  people  to  build  a  house  to  him; 
they  did  build  and  use  it  for  the  purposes  he  designed.  They 
were  not  permitted  to  remain  and  enjoy  it.  There  were, 
probably,  some  additions  which  would  have  been  made  to 
"complete"  the  edifice  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term,  if  the 
builders  had  remained  to  enjoy  it.  A  man  might  build  a 
house,  and  before  the  finishing  touches,  adornments,  paint- 
ing, decorations,  etc.,  were  completed,  he  might  be  com- 
pelled to  leave  it,  or  it  might  be  destroyed,  but  the  house 
would  be  "built"  all  the  same,  and  he  or  the  person  he  em- 
ployed to  erect  it  would  be  called  its  builders,  even  if  he 
never  "enjoyed  it."  The  Kirtland  Temple  was  built  but 
the  people  were  not  permitted  to  remain  and  enjoy  it.  The 
Saints  who  have  been  gathered  to  the  Stakes  of  Zion 
have  been  permitted  not  only  to  build  and  "complete" 
six  Temples  after  the  pattern  revealed  to  the  Prophet 
Joseph  and  made  known  to  his  brethren  in  the  Apostleship, 
but  also  to  "enjoy"  their  occupancy  and  receive  the  oracles 
and  revelations  and  manifestations  from  God  which  belong 
specially  to  those  holy  places.  This  would  not  have  been 
their  privilege  if  they  had  been  "rejected  as  a  Church  with 
their  dead." 

It  is  surprising  that  sane  people,  however  biased  and 
prejudiced,  could  entertain  the  notion  that  the  just  and 
merciful  Father  and  the  tender  and  loving  Christ  would 
reject  the  people  who  had  toiled  so  faithfully  to  obey  the 
commandment  given  them  to  build  a  Temple,  because, 
before  they  could  perfectly  finish  the  structure  after  build- 
ing it,  in  consequence  of  the  inroad  made  upon  them  by 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

their  enemies,  they  were  compelled  to  forsake  all  their 
possessions  for  the  Gospel's  sake!  Such  a  proceeding  would 
be  contrary  to  the  course  and  character  of  Deity  since  the 
world  began,  and  a  contradiction  of  the  word  of  God  on 
this  very  subject  in  the  same  revelation  in  which  the  com- 
mandment was  given.  Here  it  is: 

"Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  when  I  give  a 
commandment  to  any  of  the  sons  of  men  to  do  a  work 
unto  my  name,  and  those  sons  of  men  go  with  all  their 
might  and  with  all  they  have  to  perform  that  work  and 
cease  not  their  diligence,  and  their  enemies  come  upon 
them  and  hinder  them  from  performing  that  work,  be- 
hold, it  behooveth  me  to  require  that  work  no  more  at  the 
hands  of  those  sons  of  men,  but  to  accept  of  their  offerings, 
and  the  iniquity  and  transgression  of  my  holy  laws  and  com- 
mandments I  will  visit  upon  the  heads  of  those  who  hindered 
my  work  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation,  so  long  as 
they  repent  not  and  hate  me,  saith  the  Lord  your  God. 
Therefore  for  this  cause  have  I  accepted  the  offerings  of 
those  whom  I  commanded  to  build  up  a  city  and  a  house 
unto  my  name  in  Jackson  County,  Missouri,  and  were  hin- 
dered by  their  enemies,  saith  the  Lord  your  God."  (Doc 
&  Cov.  Sec.  124:49-51.) 

It  has  been  argued  by  persons  who  are  not  disposed 
to  receive  God's  word  when  it  is  opposed  to  their  own  pe- 
culiar ideas,  that  this  word  of  the  Lord  refers  solely  to  those 
who  were  hindered  from  building  a  Temple  in  Jackson 
County,  Missouri.  That,  however,  would  make  the  Lord 
a  "respecter  of  persons"  and  a  changeable  being.  The  prin- 
ciple enunciated  in  the  above  quotation  is  and  must  be  of 
general  application.  It  is  not  special  to  one  particular 
occasion  or  one  set  of  individuals.  The  Lord  says:  "When 
I  give  a  commandment  to  any  of  the  sons  of  men,"  etc.  He 
further  says,  in  verse  53,  after  speaking  of  the  hindrance  of 
the  building  of  his  house  in  Jackson  County  and  its  conse- 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  9 

quences:  "And  this  I  make  an  example  unto  you,"  etc. 
God  would  be  partial  indeed  if  he  accepted  the  offerings  of  the 
people  in  Jackson  County  because  they  were  hindered  by 
their  enemies  from  performing  that  which  he  had  com- 
manded, and  rejected  the  offering  of  his  people  in  Nauvoo 
who  accomplished  so  much  more,  and,  with  trowel  in  one 
hand  and  a  weapon  of  defence  in  the  other,  ceased  not  their 
diligence  but  built  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  were  then,  like 
their  brethren  in  Missouri,  driven  from  their  homes  by  blood- 
thirsty mobs  who  hated  them  for  their  devotion  to  the  cause 
for  which  they  were  willing  to  sacrifice  all  things. 

It  is  further  contended  that  the  expulsion  from  Illinois 
and  the  privations  and  sufferings  endured  by  the  Saints  in 
their  journey  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  evidence  that  the 
Church  was  rejected  of  the  Lord.  On  that  hypothesis  the 
Church  must  have  been  rejected  of  God  at  a  very  early  date. 
What  about  the  persecutions  in  Ohio,  the  drivings  and  plun- 
derings  and  butcheries  in  Missouri?  Were  they  proofs  that 
the  Lord  had  rejected  his  people?  By  that  kind  of  reasoning 
Christ  was  rejected  of  God  when  he  hung  upon  the  cross;  the 
Apostles  and  Saints  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian 
era  and  the  prophets  of  old  who  were  "stoned,  sawn  asunder, 
slain  with  the  sword,  afflicted,  tormented,  wandering  in 
deserts,  in  mountains,  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth/ '  were 
rejected  of  God.  Those  who  indulge  in  such  contentions 
forget  the  Apostle's  declaration:  "They  that  live  godly  in 
Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution." 

In  a  pamphlet  published  by  the  so-called  "Reorganized" 
church  on  the  subject  of  the  rejection,  it  is  argued  that  the 
Lord  "rejected  Judah  for  their  sins,"  but  that  he  "did  not 
cast  them  off  forever  nor  destroy  their  kingdom,  nor  take 
from  them  the  Priesthood."  And  it  announces,  "We  hold 
that  he  has  so  rejected  his  Church."  On  that  reasoning, 


10  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

then,  the  Church  has  not  been  disorganized,  therefore  it 
could  not  be  reorganized.  If  it  has  been  rejected  for  the 
sins  of  many  of  its  people,  when  they  repent  and  turn  to  the 
Lord  it  is  that  people,  that  Cnurch,  they  who  bear  that  Holy 
Priesthood  that  will  be  received  again  to  the  Lord's  favor, 
as  it  was  with  Judah  of  old.  It  will  not  be  another  church, 
another  people,  a  new  organization,  but  the  same  Church, 
the  same  people,  the  same  Priesthood,  the  same  Kingdom 
which  God  set  up  for  the  last  days  and  for  the  last  time, 
and  which  he  declared  should  not  be  overcome  of  the  world. 
On  their  own  reasoning,  therefore,  the  "Reorganizes" 
-have  no  status  as  the  Church  of  Christ. 

In  meeting  this  alleged  argument,  it  is  not  admitted 
for  a  moment  that  the  Lord  rejected  the  Church  which  he 
established  with  a  promise  of  its  perpetuity,  nor  that  any 
but  a  minority  of  its  members  went  into  transgression, 
nor  that  the  authority  and  keys  of  the  Holy  Priesthood  were 
taken  away,  nor  that  the  Lord  in  permitting  his  people  to  be 
removed  to  the  "tops  of  the  mountains,"  designed  any 
affliction  to  come  upon  his  people  except  for  their  benefit 
and  the  magnifying  of  his  Church  in  the  eyes  of  the  nations. 
He  has  fulfilled  in  their  history  in  the  Vales  of  Utah  the  say- 
ings of  the  prophets  concerning  Zion:  "The  wilderness  and 
the  solitary  place  have  been  made  glad  for  them."  "Springs 
have  burst  forth  and  waters  in  the  desert."  "The  branch 
of  the  Lord  is  made  beautiful  and  glorious,  and  the  fruit  of 
the  earth  is  excellent  and  comely  for  them  that  are  escaped 
of  Israel."  "The  Spirit  has  been  poured  out  from  on  high;" 
"The  work  of  righteousness  is  peace;"  God's  people  "dwell 
in  sure  dwellings  and  quiet  resting  places;  they  sow  beside 
all  waters."  "The  eyes  of  the  blind  have  been  opened, 
the  ears  of  the  deaf  unstopped."  "The  lame  leap  as  the  hart; 
the  tongue  of  the  dumb  is  made  to  sing."  The  Lord  has 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  11 

lifted  up  "an  ensign  on  the  mountains"  where  the  house  of 
the  Lord  is  reared,  and  people  from  all  nations  are  flowing 
unto  it.  "Zion  that  brought  good  tidings  has  gone  up  into 
the  high  mountain,"  and  "the  time  to  favor  her,  yea  the 
set  time  is  come."  These  are  the  sayings  of  ancient  seers, 
notably  of  Isaiah  the  Prophet,  and  they  are  being  fulfilled 
in  the  Zion  of  the  Lord  of  the  latter  days,  the  Church  which 
he  established  in  1830,  and  which  has  never  been  disorganized 
or  rejected  or  overcome.  There  is  and  can  be  but  one 
Church  of  the  true  and  living  Cod  on  earth,  and  in  that  alone 
is  full  and  complete  salvation,  exaltation  and  eternal  life. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  claim  that  at  the  death  of  Joseph 
Smith,  the  Prophet,  Seer  and  Revelator,  no  one  could  legally 
succeed  him  but  his  oldest  son.  This  is  based  first  on  the 
alleged  doctrine  of  lineage  in  the  Priesthood;  second,  on  a 
revelation  given  January  19,  1841,  in  reference  to  a  blessing 
upon  Joseph  Smith  and  his  posterity;  third, on  a  revelation 
given  in  February,  1831,  in  reference  to  the  power  of  ap- 
pointment given  to  the  Prophet  Joseph;  fourth,  on  reported 
statements  that  Joseph  the  Prophet  "appointed"  or  "or- 
dained" or  "promised"  that  his  son  Joseph  should  succeed 
him  as  President. 

As  to  lineage  in  the  Priesthood:  W.  W.  Blair,  First 
Counselor  to  Joseph  the  son  of  Joseph  the  Prophet,  held 
that  the  Priesthood  given  to  the  latter  must  needs  descend 
to  the  former,  because  the  Lord  declared  on  December  6th, 
1832: 

"Therefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  you  with  whom 
the  Priesthood  has  continued  through  the  lineage  of  your 
fathers — for  ye  are  lawful  heirs  according  to  the  flesh  and 
have  been  hid  from  the  world  with  Christ  in  God — therefore 
your  life  and  the  Priesthood  hath  remained  and  must  needs 
remain  through  you  and  your  lineage  until  the  restoration 


12  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

of  all  things  spoken  by  the  mouths  of  all  the  holy  prophets 
since  the  world  began.'* 

This  has  been  quoted  by  many  others  of  the  "Reorgan- 
ized'' church,  and  they  make  a  point  of  inserting  in  brackets 
the  words  "Joseph  the  Martyr,"  which  are  not  in  the  reve- 
lation (see  Doc.  &  Cov.  Section  86:8-10.)  By  this  means 
they  pervert  the  word  of  the  Lord  and  turn  it  from  its  true 
signification.  The  first  verse  of  that  revelation  says:  "Verily 
thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  you  my  servants."  It  was  spoken 
to  those  who  held  the  Priesthood  in  the  Church  in  Decem- 
ber, 1832.  It  simply  shows  that  their  fathers,  many  gener- 
ations ago,  held  this  Priesthood,  and  that  it  had  come  down 
to  them  in  this  last  dispensation  and  in  the  same  way  would 
remain  in  their  lineage.  It  was  not  special  to  Joseph  Smith 
or  any  one  individual.  It  does  not  convey  the  idea  that 
his  oldest  son  or  any  of  his  sons  or  the  sons  of  the  other 
Elders  of  the  Church,  to  whom  with  him  the  promise  was 
made,  should  succeed  to  the  Priesthood  which  they  held. 
If  any  of  their  posterity  in  generations  to  come  receive  and 
magnify  that  Priesthood,  it  will  remain  in  their  lineage  just 
as  it  remained  in  the  lineage  of  the  ancients. 

But  supposing  the  promise  is  to  be  understood  that 
all  or  any  of  the  sons  of  those  men  shall  receive  and  enjoy 
the  Priesthood  which  their  fathers  held,  even  then  it  would 
have  no  bearing  upon  the  power  of  Presidency.  The  right 
to  preside  does  not  inhere  in  the  authority  of  Priesthood. 
A  man  may  hold  all  the  authority  of  the  Priesthood  without 
having  the  right  to  preside.  This  is  clearly  defined  in  the 
later  revelations  of  God  to  the  Church,  and  indeed  was 
shown  from  the  beginning.  Joseph  Smith  was  a  Prophet, 
a  Seer,  a  Revelator  and  an  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  divine 
appointment  and  ordination;  he  was  President  of  the  Church 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  13 

through  the  acceptance  and  vote  and  common  consent  of 
the  Church.  He  would  have  held  all  the  power  and  au- 
thority pertaining  to  his  Apostleship  and  prophetic  calling 
if  he  had  not  been  received  by  the  people  at  all.  But  he 
could  not  have  presided  without  the  vote  and  faith  and 
fellowship  and  common  consent  of  the  Church.  Presidency 
does  not  come  by  lineage.  No  one  has  any  right  of  Presi- 
dency because  of  illustrious  ancestry,  or  official  position 
held  by  a  progenitor. 

Another  passage  in  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants  is 
relied  upon  and  frequently  quoted  by  the  disciples  of  the 
"Presidency  by  lineage"  theory.  It  is  this: 

"The  order  of  this  Priesthood  was  confirmed  to  be 
handed  down  from  father  to  son,  and  rightly  belongs  to 
the  literal  descendants  of  the  chosen  seed  to  whom  the 
promises  were  made,"  etc. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  context  that  this  has  no  refer- 
ence whatever  to  Presidency,  nor  does  it  relate  to  any 
office  in  the  Priesthood  but  that  of  Patriarch.  The  quota- 
tion we  have  cited  is  in  Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  107,  verse  40.  It 
is  preceded,  in  verse  39,  by  these  instructions: 

"It  is  the  duty  of  the  Twelve  in  all  large  branches 
of  the  Church  to  ordain  Evangelical  ministers  as  they  shall 
be  designated  unto  them  by  revelation." 

The  revelation  then  goes  on  to  say: 

"The  order  of  this  Priesthood  was  confirmed  to  be 
handed  down  from  father  to  son,"  etc. 

The  order  of  which  Priesthood?  The  order  of  the  Evan- 
gelists, of  course.  Joseph  the  Prophet  said  that  this  term 
referred  to  Patriarchs  and  this  is  manifest  in  the  following 
verses  from  41  to  57,  which  show  that  this  part  of  the  duty 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

of  the  Twelve  consisted  solely  of  ordaining  Patriarchs  as 
designated  unto  them  by  revelation.     Verse  58  says: 

"It  is  the  duty  .of  the  Twelve  also  to  ordain  and  set  in 
order  all  the  other  officers  of  the  Church,"  etc. 

The  use  made  of  this  revelation  by  those  who  wrest  it 
to  conform  to  their  mistaken  theory  is  one  more  instance  of 
their  repeated  perversions  of  the  word  of  God. 

The  chief  reliance,  however,  of  the  "Lineage"  advo- 
cates is  placed  on  the  revelation  given  January  19th,  1841: 

"For  this  anointing  I  have  put  upon  his  head,  that  his 
blessing  shall  also  be  put  upon  the  head  of  his  posterity  after 
him.  And  as  I  said  unto  Abraham  concerning  the  kindreds 
of  the  earth,  even  so  I  say  unto  my  servant  Joseph,  in  thee 
and  in  thy  seed  shall  the  kindred  of  the  earth  be  blessed  " 
(Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  124:57,  58.) 

In  quoting  this  isolated  portion  of  that  revelation  with- 
out the  context  which  shows  its  true  signification,  they  still 
further  pervert  the  word  of  the  Lord.  In  the  various  publi- 
cations issued  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  appear  that  these 
promises  of  the  Lord  had  reference  to  the  oldest  son  of  the 
Prophet,  the  words  "of  Priesthood,  authority  and  calling" 
are  placed  in  brackets  after  the  words  "his  blessing"  in  the 
revelation;  also  in  brackets  the  words  "first,  eldest"  after 
the  word  "head"  in  the  revelation,  thus  endeavoring  to 
influence  the  reader  and  warp  his  understanding. 

This  part  of  the  revelation  of  January  19,  1841,  cannot 
be  correctly  understood  without  reading  verses  56  to  61. 
From  these  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  blessing  put  upon 
the  head  of  Joseph  the  Prophet  and  upon  his  posterity  or 
"seed"  after  him,  was  the  privilege  of  having  a  place  from 
generation  to  generation  in  the  Nauvoo  House,  to  be  built  by 
subscriptions  of  stock  as  provided  for  in  the  revelation  from 
verses  56  to  112.  The  portion  of  the  word  of  the  Lord  con- 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  15 

tained  in  those  verses  relates  solely  to  that  theme — the 
building  of  "a  house  for  the  boarding  of  strangers/'  "a 
delightful  habitation  for  man,  a  resting  place  for  the  weary 
traveler  that  he  might  contemplate  the  glory  of  Zion."  It 
has  not  the  remotest  application  to  Priesthood  or  Presidency 
or  succession  in  anything,  but  the  right  of  Joseph  the  Proph- 
et and  his  posterity  to  have  place  in  that  house.  The  Lord 
gave  a  promise  to  Joseph  Smith,  as  he  did  to  Abraham  con- 
cerning his  seed:  "In  thee  and  in  thy  seed  shall  the  kindred 
of  the  earth  be  blessed,"  and  he  adds:  "THEREFORE,  let 
my  servant  Joseph  and  his  seed  after  him  have  place  in  that 
house  from  generation  to  generation  for  ever  and  ever,  saith 
the  Lord." 

The  promise  of  God  to  Joseph  the  Prophet  concerning 
his  "seed,"  it  will  be  seen,  was  simply  the  same  that  he  made 
to  Abraham.  It  was  also  made  and  has  been  made  to  others 
who  obtained  the  Priesthood.  In  Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  110, 
which  gives  an  account  of  visions  manifested  in  the  Kirt- 
land  Temple,  we  read: 

"After  this  Elias  appeared  and  committed  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Gospel  of  Abraham,  saying  that  in  us  and 
our  seed,  all  generations  after  us  should  be  blessed." 

Thus  the  promise  which  the  "Lineage"  advocates  con- 
tend belonged  only  to  the  son  of  Joseph  the  Prophet,  is  one 
that  belongs  to  the  posterity  of  other  servants  of  God  who 
are  endowed  with  the  authority  and  power  of  the  Holy 
Priesthood.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  no  blessing 
pronounced  upon  such  a  servant  of  God  can  be  enjoyed  by 
any  of  his  posterity,  except  through  their  own  faithfulness 
and  obedience  to  the  commandments  of  God.  Neither  is 
it  peculiar  to  the  eldest  of  the  lineage  except  in  the  office 
of  Patriarch,  which  has  already  been  explained,  and  in  the 


16  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

line  of  the  Aaronic  Priesthood,  as  revealed  in  Doc.  &  Cov. 
Sec.  68  and  in  the  law  of  Moses.  The  term  "anointing," 
on  the  head  of  Joseph,  refers  to  the  manner  of  blessing  by  the 
holy  anointing  which  is  poured  on  the  head  of  the  recipient. 
If  any  of  his  posterity  prove  worthy  to  receive  that  anoint- 
ing it  will  be  placed  on  their  head,  as  all  blessings  which 
come  either  by  anointing  or  the  laying  on  of  hands  are  placed, 
even  as  Jacob  of  old  put  the  blessing  of  his  son  Joseph  "on 
the  crown  of  the  head  of  him  that  was  separate  from  his 
brethren."  (Gen.  49:26;  also  48:13-20.) 

The  notion  that  a  blessing  put  upon  the  head  of  a 
man's  posterity  means  simply  upon  his  oldest  son  is  absurd 
on  its  face.  If  the  words  "the  head  of  his  posterity"  mean 
his  oldest  son  what  is  meant  by  Joseph's  "head"?  On  such 
a  rule  it  would  mean  his  father,  of  course,  and  thus  Joseph 
the  Seer  himself  would  be  left  out  entirely.  Careful  investi- 
gation of  the  blessings  that  flowed  to  Abraham's  posterity, 
to  his  "seed  after  him,"  will  show  that  they  rarely  were 
possessed  by  the  oldest  son  in  the  family  descent;  and  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  blessing  on  the  head  of  Joseph 
the  Prophet  and  on  the  head  of  his  posterity  was  similar 
in  respect  to  descent  to  that  of  Abraham  and  his  posterity, 
and  of  other  men  whom  God  called  and  ordained  in  opening 
up  his  last  dispensation  and  promised  to  "their  seed  after 
them  through  all  generations;"  and,  as  has  been  demon- 
strated, in  none  of  these  cases,  ancient  or  modern,  does 
the  blessing  or  anointing  or  promise  have  any  reference 
to  the  right  of  Presidency.  That  is  another  and  entirely 
different  matter  and  conferred  in  a  different  manner. 

Now  as  to  the  alleged  appointment  or  ordination  or  pre- 
diction upon  "Little  Joseph"  by  his  martyred  father:  There 
is  not  anything  in  all  the  purported  sayings  and  doings  of  the 
Prophet  Joseph  which  justify  the  conclusion  jumped  at  by 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  17 

"Reorganizes."  That  Joseph  the  Prophet  blessed  his  son 
will  be  conceded.  Every  man  of  God  holding  the  Melchise- 
dek  Priesthood  has  the  right  to  bless  his  children.  Under 
the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  he  may  predict  that 
the  Priesthood  he  holds  shall  be  inherited  by  his  posterity, 
but  that  inheritance  is  always  predicated  on  the  obedience 
of  the  recipient  to  the  law  of  the  Lord  and  his  submission  to 
the  rules  and  regulations  that  govern  the  Priesthood.  He 
must  "come  in  at  the  gate,"  as  the  Lord  has  ordained  and 
obtain  his  blessings  at  the  hands  of  the  appointed  authority. 
(Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  43:7.)  Whatever  may  be  vaguely  claimed 
by  the  over-zealous  supporters  of  the  late  Joseph  Smith, 
he  did  not,  so  far  as  has  been  published,  profess  to  have 
been  ordained  by  his  father  to  preside  over  the  Church  as 
his  successor.  But  even  if  he  did  make  claim  to  any  such 
ordination  or  appointment,  it  would  not  stand^for  a  mo- 
ment as  against  the  order  established  by  revelation  from 
God  through  his  father  for  the  government  of  the  Church, 
which  we  will  now  consider. 

In  the  first  years  of  the  childhood  of  the  Church  there 
were  numerous  attempts  on  the  part  of  enthusiastic  persons 
to  regulate  its  affairs  by  visions,  or  "tongues,"  or  revelations 
they  claimed  to  have  received.  It  became  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  warn  the  Church  against  accepting  anything  for  that 
purpose  except  through  the  head.  In  September,  1830, 
the  Lord  said: 

"Behold,  verily,  verily  I  say  unto  thee,  no  one  shall  be 
appointed  to  receive  commandments  and  revelations  in 
this  Church  except  my  servant  Joseph  Smith,  Jun.,  for  he 
receiveth  them  even  as  Moses.  *  *  *  For  I  have  given  him 
the  keys  of  the  mysteries  and  the  revelations  which  are 
sealed,  until  I  shall  appoint  unto  them  another  in  his  stead." 
(Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  28:2,  7.) 


18  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

In  February,  1831,  the  Lord  said: 

"And  this  ye  shall  know  assuredly  that  there  is  none 
other  appointed  unto  you  to  receive  commandments  and 
revelations  until  he  be  taken  if  he  abide  in  me.  But  verily, 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  none  else  shall  be  appointed  unto 
this  gift  except  it  be  through  him,  for  if  it  be  taken  from  him 
he  shall  not  have  power  except  to  appoint  another  in  his 
stead."  (Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec.  43:3,  4.) 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  dates  of  these  revelations  that 
they  were  given  before  the  Church  was  thoroughly  organized 
in  all  its  quorums  and  councils,  and  before  Joseph  the 
Prophet  had  been  tested  and  proved,  to  see  whether  he  would 
"abide"  in  the  Lord.  But  after  the  Council  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles  had  been  organized,  to  hold  the  keys  of  the  King- 
dom to  open  the  door  to  all  nations,  and  after  Joseph  had 
been  tried  and  proven,  the  Lord  said  to  the  Twelve: 

"The  keys  which  I  have  given  unto  him  and  also  to 
youward  shall  not  be  taken  from  him  till  I  come."  (Sec. 
112:15.) 

This  harmonizes  with  the  revelation  in  March,  1833: 

"Verily  I  say  unto  you,  the  keys  of  this  kingdom  shall 
never  be  taken  from  you  while  thou  art  in  the-  world  nor  in 
the  world  to  come.  Nevertheless  through  you  shall  the 
oracles  be  given  to  another,  yea  even  unto  the  Church;  and 
all  they  who  receive  the  oracles  of  God,  let  them  beware 
how  they  hold  them,"  etc.  (Doc.  &  Cov.  Section  90:2-5.) 

The  order  of  the  Priesthood  and  the  governing  authority 
in  the  Church  are  set  forth  in  Section  107  of  the  Doctrine 
and  Covenants.  The  powers  of  the  Melchisedek  or  High 
Priesthood  and  of  the  Aaronic  or  Lesser  Priesthood  are 
therein  defined.  The  order  of  Presidency  is  also  explained, 
and  it  is  shown  that: 

"Of  necessity  there  are  presidents  or  presiding  offices 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  19 

growing  out  of  or  appointed  of  or  from  among  those  who 
are  ordained  to  the  several  offices  in  these  two  Priesthoods. 
Of  the  Melchisedek  Priesthood,  three  Presiding  High  Priests, 
chosen  by  the  body,  appointed  and  ordained  to  that  office, 
and  upheld  by  the  confidence,  faith,  and  prayer  of  the 
Church,  form  a  quorum  of  the  Presidency  of  the  Church. 
The  Twelve  Traveling  Counselors  are  called  to  be  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  or  special  witnesses  of  the  name  of  Christ  in  all  the 
world,  thus  differing  from  other  officers  in  the  Church  in  the 
duties  of  their  calling.  And  they  form  a  quorum,  equal  in 
authority  and  power  to  the  three  Presidents  previously 
mentioned." 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  three  persons  who  have 
been  appointed  and  ordained  to  the  Melchisedek  Priesthood 
and  are  Presiding  High  Priests,  when  chosen  by  the  body  and 
upheld  by  the  confidence,  faith  and  prayer  of  the  Church 
constitute  the  Presidency  of  the  Church.  Joseph  the 
Prophet  was  an  Apostle  and  was  therefore  a  Presiding  High 
Priest.  His  counselors  were  also  men  appointed  and  or- 
dained to  the  same  calling.  But  each  of  them  had  to  be 
chosen  and  upheld  by  the  body  in  order  that  they  might  to- 
gether preside  over  the  Church.  The  Twelve  Apostles,  also 
Presiding  High  Priests,  forming  a  Traveling  Presiding  High 
Council  (verse  33)  held  authority  "to  build  up  the  Church 
and  regulate  all  the  affairs  of  the  same  in  all  nations,  under 
the  direction  of  the  First  Presidency."  Apostles  are  God's 
High  Priests  (Sec.  84:63).  When  there  is  no  First  Presi- 
dency of  three,  the  Twelve  constitute  a  Council  or  Quorum 
"equal  in  authority  and  power  to  the  three  Presidents  pre- 
viously mentioned,"  and  when  so  upheld  by  the  Church 
can  preside  over  it,  regulate  all  its  affairs,  ordain  and  set  in 
order  all  the  other  offices  of  the  Church  (verse  58)  and  thus 
the  Church  can  be  continued  and  perpetuated,  suffering  no 
disorder,  but  carrying  on  the  work  under  Jesus  Christ  who 
is  its  living  head  on  high. 


20  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

Previous  to  the  death  of  Joseph  the  Prophet  the  Lord 
gave  to  the  Church,  by  revelation,  all  the  leading  officers 
belonging  to  the  Priesthood;  providing,  however,  that  they 
should  be  presented  at  the  General  Conference  of  the  Church 
for  approval  or  disapproval.  After  nominating  the  Patriarch, 
the  President,  and  his  two  counselors,  he  named  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  with  Brigham  Young  as  their  President;  also  the 
High  Council  for  the  "corner  stone"  or  Stake  of  Zion  at 
Nauvoo,  and  the  various  minor  officers  in  the  Priesthood. 
Doc.  &  Cov.  124:123-145.  The  Prophet  and  Patriarch  were 
martyred,  one  of  Joseph's  counselors  had  been  excommuni- 
cated, the  other  had  so  far  gone  astray  that  the  Prophet  had 
endeavored  to  repudiate  him,  and  there  was  no  First  Presi- 
dency of  three  to  stand  at  the  head  of  the  Church.  But  the 
Twelve,  with  President  Brigham  Young  at  their  head,  as 
a  Traveling  High  Council,  according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
stepped  forward  as  a  quorum  equal  in  authority  and  power 
to  the  Quorum  of  Three  which  had  been  dissolved,  and  pre- 
sided over  the  Church  by  its  vote,  confidence,  faith,  prayer 
and  fellowship.  Thus  all  things  were  done  in  order  and  by 
"common  consent."  When  the  First  Presidency  of  three 
High  Priests  was  reorganized,  December  5th,  1847,  under 
and  according  to  the  duty  of  the  Twelve,  and  subsequently 
upheld  and  sustained  by  the  Church  in  General  Conference, 
the  revelation  was  fulfilled,  as  quoted  above,  namely:  "Of 
necessity  there  are  Presidents  or  Presiding  Offices  growing 
out  of  or  appointed  of  or  from  among  those  who  are  ordained 
to  the  several  offices  in  these  two  Priesthoods."  Similar 
proceedings  have  followed  at  each  dissolution  of  the  First 
Presidency  of  Three,  occasioned  by  the  death  of  the  Presi- 
dent. Thus  the  design  and  purpose  of  the  Lord,  repeatedly 
made  known,  that  His  Church  and  Kingdom  should  con- 
tinue and  never  be  destroyed,  given  to  other  people,  or  be 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  21 

overcome  of  the  world,  have  been  maintained,  and  the 
power  and  authority  of  the  Melchisedek  and  Aaronic  Priest- 
hoods, with  the  presiding  offices  growing  out  of  or  from 
among  them,  have  been  magnified  and  blessed  of  the  Al- 
mighty, and  the  fruits  thereof  bear  evidence  of  their  divinity. 
The  keys  of  the  Kingdom  are  and  have  been  with  the 
Apostleship.  No  man  has  taken  or  aspired  to  the  place  of 
Joseph  the  Prophet.  His  position  was  assured  to  him  by  the 
Lord  in  this  world  and  in  the  world  to  come.  As  with  David 
Patten:  "His  Priesthood  no  man  taketh  from  him,"  though 
the  Lord  had  taken  David  unto  himself,  but  another  could 
be  "appointed  to  the  same  calling."  (Section  124:130). 
Joseph  had  prepared  the  Apostles  for  the  burden  that  awaited 
them,  by  conferring  upon  them  every  key,  power,  gift, 
anointing  and  blessing  which  had  been  placed  upon  his  head, 
so  that  the  oracles  might  be  given  to  the  Church  when  he 
was  taken  away.  The  testimonies  to  this  fact  are  numerous 
and  incontrovertible.  They  were  given  in  Nauvoo  when 
Sidney  Rigdon  put  forth  his  feeble  claim  to  be  "Guardian" 
of  the  Church.  They  are  matters  of  history.  The  late  Pres- 
ident Wilford  Woodruff  repeatedly  related  the  circumstances 
which  occurred  when  Joseph  conferred  those  powers  upon 
the  Twelve.  No  one  who  knew  Wilford  Woodruff  questions 
his  truthfulness,  honor  and  integrity.  His  word  was  as  good 
as  his  bond,  his  simple  statement  as  valid  as  his  oath.  The 
following  is  his  latest  testimony  on  this  matter.  It  was  given 
in  the  presence  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  people  at  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter- 
day  Saints  in  Salt  Lake  City,  Sunday  afternoon,  April  10th, 
1898: 

"I  feel  thankful  today  that  Joseph  F.  Smithfis  with 
us  as  a  son  of  Hyrum  Smith.  He  bears  a  true  and  faithful 
testimony  of  his  father.  I  would  to  God  that  Joseph  Smith 
had  a  son  in  the  flesh  who  would  do  as  Joseph  F.  Smith 


22  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

does  here — bear  a  testimony  to  the  truth  of  his  father.  The 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith  has  no  son  that  stands  in  the  midst 
of  the  Church  of  God  and  bears  record  of  his  father.  He 
never  has  had;  possibly  never  will  have.  I  will  give  you  a 
testimony  here  that  will  show  you  where  I  stand  with  regard 
to  this  matter.  Joseph  Smith  never  ordained  his  son  Joseph, 
never  blessed  him  nor  set  him  apart  to  lead  this  Church  and 
Kingdom  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  When  he  or  any  other 
man  says  he  did,  they  state  that  which  is  false  before  high 
heaven.  The  last  speech  that  Joseph  Smith  ever  made  to 
the  Quorum  of  the  Apostles  was  in  a  building  in  Nauvoo, 
and  it  was  such  a  speech  as  I  never  heard  from  mortal  man 
before  or  since.  He  was  clothed  upon  with  the  Spirit  and 
power  of  God.  His  face  was  clear  as  amber.  The  room  was 
filled  as  with  consuming  fire.  He  stood  three  hours  upon  his 
feet.  Said  he:  'You  Apostles  of  the  Lamb  of  God  have  been 
chosen  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  the  Lord  upon  the  earth. 
Now,  I  have  received,  as  the  Prophet,  Seer  and  Revelator, 
standing  at  the  head  of  this  dispensation,  every  key,  every 
ordinance,  every  principle  and  every  Priesthood  that  belongs 
to  the  last  dispensation  and  fulness  of  times.  And  I  have 
sealed  all  these  things  upon  your  heads.  Now,  you  Apostles, 
if  you  do  not  rise  up  and  bear  off  this  kingdom,  as  I  have 
given  it  to  you,  you  will  be  damned." 

It  is  claimed  by  the  disciples  of  the  late  Joseph 
Smith  that  the  presiding  authority  after  the  death  of  the 
Prophet  and  Patriarch  was  with  the  High  Council  in  Nauvoo, 
and  they  quote  these  instructions  of  the  Prophet  to  the 
Apostles: 

"The  Twelve  will  have  no  right  to  go  into  Zion  or  any 
of  her  Stakes,  and  there  undertake  to  regulate  the  affairs 
thereof  where  there  is  a  standing  High  Council;  but  it  is 
their  duty  to  go  abroad  and  regulate  all  matters  relative 
to  the  different  branches  of  the  Church.  When  the  Twelve 
are  together,  or  a  quorum  of  them,  in  any  Church,  they  will 
have  authority  to  act  independently,  and  make  decisions 
and  those  decisions  will  be  valid.  But  where  there  is  not  a 
quorum  they  will  have  to  do  business  by  the  voice  of  the 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  23 

Church.  No  standing  High  Council  has  authority  to  go 
into  the  Churches  abroad  and  regulate  the  matters  thereof, 
for  this  belongs  to  the  Twelve." 

The  signification  of  these  instructions  can  scarcely 
be  misunderstood  by  any  one  who  does  not  desire  to  mis- 
interpret them.  The  standing  High  Councils  in  the  Stakes 
of  Zion  are  pronounced,  in  the  revelation,  equal  in  their 
respective  decisions  with  each  other  and  with  those  of  the 
higher  quorums,  so  far  as  the  jurisdiction  of  the  former  ex- 
tends. The  Twelve  as  a  Traveling  High  Council  were  not 
to  interfere  with  the  local  affairs  of  any  Stake  of  Zion,  be- 
cause each  stake  has  its  own  local  organization.  But  when 
the  First  Presidency  of  the  Church  was  dissolved,  the 
Quorum  of  the  Twelve,  as  has  been  shown,  became  the 
chief  presiding  authority  over  all  the  Church.  It  was  in 
that  capacity  that  they  acted  and  did  business  "by  the 
voice  of  the  Church."  They  did  not  supercede  or  take  the 
place  of  or  interfere  with  the  duties  of  the  High  Council  of 
tho  Stake  of  Zion  at  Nauvoo,  but  performed  the  functions 
of  a  Presiding  Quorum  over  the  entire  Church,  including  all 
its  Stakes  and  branches  and  quorums  and  councils,  and  were 
authorized  to  do  this,  not  only  by  virtue  of  their  calling,  but 
by  the  united  voice  and  vote  of  the  several  quorums  in 
General  Assembly,  which  constitute  the  spiritual  author- 
ities of  the  Church,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal.  At  a 
Council  held  in  the  Kirtland  Temple,  January  16th,  1836, 
Joseph  the  Prophet  corrected  some  misunderstandings  in 
relation  to  the  Apostles.  In  his  history  under  that  date  he 
says: 

"I  next  proceeded  to  explain  the  duty  of  the  Twelve, 
and  their  authority  which  is  next  to  the  present  Presidency, 
and  that  the  arrangement  of  the  Assembly  in  this  place  on 
the  15th  inst,  in  placing  the  High  Council  of  Kirtland  next 


24  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

the  Presidency,  was  because  the  business  to  be  transacted 
was  business  relating  to  that  body  in  particular,  which  was  to 
fill  the  several  quorums  in  Kirtland,  not  because  they  were 
first  in  office  and  that  the  arrangements  were  the  most  ju- 
dicious that  could  be  made  on  that  occasion;  also  the  Twelve 
are  not  subject  to  any  other  than  the  First  Presidency,  viz. 
myself,  Sidney  Rigdon  and  Frederick  G.  Williams  who  are 
now  my  counselors;  (and  where  I  am  not  there  is  no  First 
Presidency  over  the  Twelve.") 

A  standing  High  Council  is  not  authorized  to  receive 
revelations  or  do  business  for  the  whole  Church,  nor  for  any 
part  of  the  Church  except  that  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
Stake  in  and  for  which  it  is  appointed.  The  Traveling  Presid- 
ing High  Council,  that  is  the  Twelve  Apostles,  have  authority 
to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in  all  nations.  Under 
the  First  Presidency  they  may  regulate  affairs  in  a  Stake  of 
Zion,  because  the  First  Presidency  preside  over  everything 
in  the  Church.  When  the  Council  of  the  Twelve  becomes 
itself  the  chief  Presiding  Power,  it  can,  as  a  quorum  au- 
thorized by  the  voice  of  the  Church,  set  in  order  all  its 
affairs  at  home  and  abroad,  precisely  as  the  First  Presidency 
of  Three. 

Advocates  of  "Reorganism"  cite  some  pretended  reve- 
lations to  their  leader  (previous  to  his  accepting  the  "pres- 
ent "  of  the  Church  which  they  tendered  to  him)  as  evidence 
of  his  calling  to  the  leadership  of  that  body.  They  are, 
as  related  by  himself,  of  a  vague  and  shadowy  character  and 
scarcely  worth  comment  or  notice.  The  most  clearly  de- 
fined of  them  is  thus  related  by  the  late  Joseph  himself. 
After  stating  that  he  had  a  conversation  with  a  person  named 
Yates,  who  urged  him  to  go  to  Utah,  in  August,  1856,  he 
says  he  was  meditating  on  the  matter  and  asked  the  ques- 
tion: "Why  should  I  not  go  to  Utah?" 

"I  heard  a  slight  noise  like  that  of  the  breeze,  that 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  25 

arrested  my  speech  and  my  attention.  I  turned  my  gaze 
slightly  upward,  and  saw  descending  towards  me  a  sort 
of  cloud,  funnel-shaped,  with  the  wide  part  upward.  It 
was  luminous  and  of  such  color  and  brightness  that  it  was 
clearly  seen,  though  the  sun  shone  at  its  summer  strength. 
It  descended  rapidly  and  settling  upon  and  over  me  en- 
veloped me  completely  so  that  I  stood  within  its  radiance. 
As  the  cloud  rested  upon  the  ground  at  my  feet,  the  words 
'Because  the  light  wherG  you  stand  is  greater  than  theirs* 
sounded  in  my  ears  clearly  and  distinctly.  Slowly  the  cloud 
passed  away  and  the  vision  closed. " 

Supposing  this  funnel-shaped  manifestation  was  be- 
held exactly  as  described,  what  had  that  to  do  with  the 
calling  of  its  recipient  to  the  Presidency  of  the  Church? 
And  what  superior  light  had  the  son  of  the  martyred  Seer, 
at  that  time  over  the  leaders  of  the  Church  who  had  re- 
mained with  it  from  the  beginning  and  had  never  turned 
away  from  it  or  forsaken  it  for  a  moment  in  the  days  of  its 
severest  trials  and  persecutions?  At  that  time  he  had  little 
or  no  light  at  all  on  the  things  of  the  Kingdom,  and  nothing 
that  emanated  from  him  since  that  time  has  given  evidence 
of  extraordinary  light  on  any  subject.  He  and  the  organiza- 
ation  by  which  he  had  to  be  led,  although  nominally  its 
leader,  is  under  a  cloud,  which  may  be  *  "funnel-shaped,"  but 
is  certainly  not  luminous.  Such  shadowy  "revelations" 
are  too  flimsy  and  meaningless  to  impress  anyone  but  per- 
sons who  have  drifted  away  from  the  "iron  rod"  and  who 
eagerly  grasp  at  a  shadow. 

Now  let  us  contrast  the  order  established  by  the  Al- 
mighty for  the  stability,  perpetuity  and  permanence  on 
earth  of  his  Church  and  Kingdom  of  the  latter  days,  with 
the  puerile,  inconsistent  and  dubious  theory  of  succession 
contended  for  by  the  so-called  "Reorganization."  In  God's 
plan,  the  death,  failure  or  apostasy  of  any  of  his  servants 


26  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

entrusted  with  presiding  power  makes  no  difference  to  the 
continuation  of  his  Church  or  the  performance  of  any  of 
its  functions;  in  the  "Reorganite"  scheme  there  is  a  disorgani- 
zation of  the  Church  at  the  dissolution  of  its  presiding  quo- 
rum. In  the  former  there  is  no  dependence  upon  the  exist- 
ence or  conduct  of  the  children  of  a  President;  in  the  latter 
everything  in  succession  to  the  Presidency  depends  upon 
such  a  contingency.  With  the  divine  plan  there  is  no  break 
or  suspension  or  hiatus;  with  the  "Reorganizes'  "  notion 
there  must  be  at  least  an  interregnum  in  case  of  the  decease 
of  the  President,  where  there  is  no  son  old  enough  to  suc- 
ceed him.  The  true  Melchisedek  Presiding  Priesthood  is 
"without  father,  without  mother,  without  descent;"  the 
counterfeit  depends  on  lineal  succession.  In  the  revelations 
of  the  Most  High  provisions  are  made  by  which  ifvthe  enemy 
takes  the  life  of  the  Presiding  Quorum  there  is  another  equal 
to  it  in  authority  and  four  times  greater  than  it  in  numbers, 
and  if  it  were  possible  for  the  Twelve  to  be  thus  removed,  a 
third  body  or  quorum  of  still  larger  proportions  and  endowed, 
then,  with  the  same  powers,  would  come  up  in  its  place, 
presenting  a  yet  broader  front  to  the  foe  (Sec.  107:25,  26); 
in  the  "Lineage"  theory,  devised  by  disappointed  men,  all 
is  a  blank  on  the  removal  of  the  head.  By  the  continuation 
of  the  Church  and  Kingdom  of  God  from  April  6th,  1830 
down  to  the  present  time  and  until  Christ  comes  the  promises 
and  predictions  of  the  Lord  himself  are  and  will  be  fulfilled; 
on  the  disorganization  and  reorganization  theory  they  would 
fall  to  the  ground  and  be  falsified.  In  the  perpetuation  of 
the  Church  in  its  full  authority,  spirit,  ordinances  and  gifts 
the  wisdom, mercy  and  justice  of  the  Lord  are  exhibited; 
in  the  rejection  theory  God  would  appear  as  unjust,  change- 
able, partial,  a  respecter  of  persons,  and  oblivious  to  the 
faithful  diligence  of  his  people  under  the  most  trying  .cir- 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  27 

cumstances  and   as   indifferent  to   his  own   principles  and 
promises. 

In  the  Church  thus  perpetuated,  the  Apostleship  and 
the  keys  and  authority  thereof  have  been  continued  in  direct 
line  without  a  break,  through  Joseph  the  Prophet,  from 
Peter,  James  and  John.  In  the  so-called  "Reorganization" 
there  is  no  real  Apostleship  at  all.  The  men  who  ordained 
the  son  of  Joseph  Smith  were  not  even  members  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  and  when  they 
were  they  were  not  Apostles  and  never  had  been.  They 
could  not  confer  that  which  they  never  possessed.  In  the 
true  Church  there  are  the  keys  to  administer  the  sacred  or- 
dinances for  the  living  and  for  the  dead;  in  the  "Reorganized" 
Church  there  is  no  such  power,  and  no  ordinances  for  the 
dead  are  administered.  Yet  those  ordinances  are  declared 
by  the  Prophet  Joseph  to  be  essential,  not  only  for  the  sal- 
vation of  the  fathers,  but  also  for  our  salvation,  as  neither 
can  be  made  perfect  without  the  other.  (Doc.  &  Cov.  Sec. 
128  verse  15.)  In  the  continued  Church,  Temples  have 
been  built  and  dedicated  on  the  plan  revealed  to  the  Prophet 
Joseph,  being  made  perfect  in  every  particular;  in  the  "Re- 
organized" Church  there  is  no  such  Temple,  no  such  plan, 
no  knowledge  how  to  erect  a  Temple,  no  understanding  of 
what  is  to  be  done  in  it  even  if  erected.  The  Kirtland  edifice, 
of  which  the  Reorganization  has  laid  hold,  is  not  used  for  a 
Temple,  but  as  a  common  meeting  house.  In  the  true 
Church  there  are  order  and  discipline  under  competent 
authority;  in  the  "Reorganized  "  society  there  are  disorder, 
confusion  and  continual  contention,  which  Christ  says  is  of 
the  devil  (III  Nephi  11:29).  In  Christ's  Church  the  head 
directs  by  divine  authority,  the  Church  being  commanded 
to  "receive  and  give  heed  unto  all  his  words  as  if  from  the 
Lord's  own  mouth,  in  all  patience  and  faith"  (Sec.  21:5); 


28  PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY 

in  the  "Reorganized"  Church  the  head  is  under  obligations  not 
to  teach  anything  except  that  which  the  members  approve. 
In  the  Church  established  by  the  Lord  through  Joseph  the 
Prophet,  revelations  are  to  be  continuously  given  for  the 
guidance  of  the  Church,  and  as  late  as  January  19,  1841, 
the  Lord  said  that  one  of  the  purposes  of  building  the  Temple 
that  he  always  commanded  his  people  to  erect,  was  that  he 
might  reveal  his  ordinances  therein,  for  he  said,  "I  deign 
to  reveal  unto  my  Church  things  which  have  been  kept  hid 
from  before  the  foundations  of  the  world;"  in  the  "Reorgan- 
izers'  "  organization  a  limit  is  placed  upon  the  revelations 
of  God,  and  that  body,  in  Conference  assembled,  passed 
this  act  of  limitation: 

" Resolved,  that  the  whole  law  of  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  contained  in  the  Bible,  Book  of  Mormon  and 
Book  of  Doctrine  and  Covenants." 

It  will  be  observed  that  even  the  revelations  which  are 
contained  in  the  book  called  the  "Pearl  of  Great  Price"  are 
shut  out  by  this  cast-iron  creed,  and  they  were  all  given 
through  Joseph  the  Seer  long  before  his  martyrdom. 

The  various  and  numerous  objections,  pretensions, 
disputations  and  contentions  of  the  so-called  "Reorgan- 
ized" people  might  all  be  met  and  shown  to  have  no  more 
foundation  in  truth,  reason  and  revelation  than  the  claims 
touched  upon  in  this  exposition,  but  as  they  all  turn  on  and 
depend  upon  this  question  of  succession,  they  are  not  herein 
examined.  If  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day 
Saints  has  continued,  according  to  revelations  and  promises 
of  the  Almighty,  from  its  organization  to  the  present  time, 
all  that  is  alleged  against  it  will  amount  to  nothing.  For,  it 
contains  within  itself  the  power,  authority  and  ability 
to  rectify  any  wrong  that  may  creep  into  it,  to  expunge  any 
impurity  that  may  arise  within  it,  to  cast  off  effete  matter, 


PRIESTHOOD  AND  PRESIDENCY  29 

if  any  there  should  be,  to  regulate  all  its  own  affairs,  so  that 
out  of  itself  shall  grow  all  offices  or  quorums  which  may  be 
removed  by  death  or  transgression,  to  become  independent 
of  all  other  creatures  beneath  the  celestial  world,  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  redemption  for  the  living  and  the  dead,  to 
fulfill  all  the  prophecies  concerning  it  and  prepare  a  people 
for  the  coming  and  reign  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  es- 
tablished it  and  has  watched  over  it  and  guided  it  and  has 
been  with  it  in  spirit  from  the  beginning.  Not  one  key,  or 
ordinance,  or  gift,  or  principle  which  he  bestowed  upon  it 
through  Joseph  the  Prophet  has  been  lost  or  taken  away. 
The  oracles  are  in  it  today  and  will  remain 
while  revelation  is  needed  for  the  consummation  of  the  great 
work  comprehended  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of 
times.  Let  those  who  have  been  deceived  by  the  sophistry 
and  errors  of  misguided  men,  come  out  from  the  mists  and 
fogs  and  contentious  spirit  of  the  so-called  "Reorganiza- 
tion," come  to  the  clear  light  of  Zion  and  receive  the  fulness 
of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  of  peace! 


